Jun 17, 2017 2 min read

This letter is in reference to a comment made in the terrific June 2 editorial, “The Merchant Mariners are the Unsung Heroes.”

The editorial states, “Merchant Mariners may not have engaged in overseas battles during the Second World War, but they were valuable teammates in the American cause. They deserved pensions, benefits, glorious homecomings and – most of all – respect. They did not deserve denigration and scorn.”

As the veteran outreach person for the American Merchant Marine Veterans organization (AMMV), I agree with almost everything in the editorial. What I take issue with is the comment that “Merchant Mariners may not have been engaged in overseas battles during World War II …”

This is not true. I have spent time with many World War II Merchant Mariners, and each and every one were trained in gunnery before shipping out. Many of them took charge of their gunnery stations after the U.S. Navy Armed Guard was hit. Merchant ships were under attack constantly, and in the beginning had no protection. Later, many of the ships were given a team of U.S. Navy Armed Guards, depending on the number of men onboard and what cargo they were carrying.

Just recently, I went to Washington, D.C., with a 92-year-old gentleman whose ship was hit by German bombs. At age 17, he grabbed the equipment and took over at the gunnery stations after seven of his own officers were killed. They managed to get the ship back to New York, where she was repaired.

This is only one story and I have heard. Many more tell similar stories. So don’t ever think that these brave men did not “engage in overseas battles.”

Sheila M. Sova

Glen Carbon, Ill.